The overall index, which gauges the cost of shipping dry bulk cargoes including iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, was down 5 points, or 1.06 percent, at 468 points, the lowest in records that date back to January 1985.

“The outlook is clearly very poor,” said Tony Foster, of British shipping asset manager Marine Capital. “We believe it’s more a question of how long these currently terrible levels will last.”

Adding to the new year gloom, world stocks fell again on Tuesday after their worst first-day performance in years, extending losses as relief at intervention by China to steady its markets quickly evaporated in the face of mounting concerns about the global economy.

The dry bulk shipping downturn began in 2008, after the onset of the financial crisis, and has worsened significantly in recent months as the Chinese economy has slowed, meaning less appetite for iron ore and coal.

The capesize index, shed 10 points, or 2.12 percent, to 462 points on Tuesday. Average daily earnings for capesizes dropped $135 to $4,676.